Ready Player One

[mad_typist]

Not sure if anyone else has read this book, but I absolutely loved it. I've never read a book that felt more like it was written specifically for me (or at least my generation). The 80s pop culture references, the video game easter eggs... just perfect.

 

Has there ever been a book more tailored to a specific demographic? If you weren't a nerd growing up in the 80s, would this book even work for you?

[nymusix]

I read this about a year and a half ago... I'm a 90s baby (born 1992, feel old!) so I didn't necessarily recognize all the references, although I am something of an 80s-phile. However, enough worked for me that I didn't feel like it was an issue by any means. This was a cool world and an interesting story; however, although it's been too long and I can't recall specifics, I remember being a little disappointed by the ending even though I did think it was a cool idea. I can't imagine my dissatisfaction coming from not getting all the references. 

[Chip]

I was born in 1970 but have only ever been a casual gamer. That being said, I got most of the references and enjoyed this book. I know others that have read and it without knowing anything about games and still enjoyed it.

There was a time when Douglas Coupland books seemed to appeal to me. Generation X was one of the first books I remember "getting" the references because I watched a lot of TV in the 70s and 80s. But then he kind of lost me when he wrote the book filled with all the Smiths references.

[Monty]

I like this book very much. It's got some pandering, but I'm almost the exact person it's pandering to. I'll put up with a lot for a book with a chapter about Zork I.

[Megan in Seattle]

I both read it and listened to the audiobook, read by Wil Wheaton: both were great experiences. I loved the world of the Oasis. I have been wanting to recommend it to people, but a little reluctant to do so because of all the 80s and especially video game references.

[radishcake]

Picked it up today to start!

[crd314]

Delayed reaction to this topic, but I listened to the audiobook during a long drive last Christmas, and it was awesome! I bought the book to read again, but I can only hear it in Wil Wheaton's voice now.

[Danny Franks]

Awesome! I just realised this forum has a section for books.

I loved Ready Player One, and I agree, it seemed perfectly tailored to me, in terms of themes and references. Did I get all of them? No, but I got enough that it was thoroughly enjoyable, and I've played enough videogames that it was all immediately familiar. And even the ones I didn't get, I felt I had an intuitive enough grasp as to what they were, and where they were from.

I've never been into online gaming that much, except for Counterstrike on my universities internal server, back in the day, but I don't think you have to be to get that aspect of the story. Escapism is a big enough thing now, just imagine how big it would be in a world as crappy as the one in the book.

[izzybaz]

Ready, Player One was recommended to me by a dear friend and I loved it.  I've listened to the audiobook version so much that I may have parts of it memorized.  I have deep fears for this being turned into a movie.  I think it would be very difficult to film, not even how expensive it would be to get the rights to all of the movies/books/tv shows mentioned in the novel.  I'd also be afraid they'd make the characters all sexy and not at all the average looking people they were in the book. Has the author's second book been released?

[MelinaBallerina]

Wouldn't a lot of a movie have to be animated?  

[benteen]

Read this book earlier in the year and loved it.  Can't wait till the movie although I don't know how it's going to translate.

[GreekGeek]

I'm going to be the dissenter here, maybe because I'm too old even for the 80's gaming culture. I picked up the book because I read about its references to Latin in a journal for Latin teachers. Reading the book felt like listening to an enthusiastic gamer describe his greatest games. I want to listen raptly and share his passion because I like the guy, but after awhile I just can't listen anymore and want to hear about life in the real world and not the virtual one. 

[wanderingstar]

On 10/28/2016 at 4:41 PM, GreekGeek said:

Reading the book felt like listening to an enthusiastic gamer describe his greatest games.

Yep. I'm definitely a child of the 80s, but I've played video games maybe twice in my entire life, so reading this book was a bit of a slog for me. Once I got past the endless pop culture references, I found the story and the characters to be pretty thin. 

I liked the allusions to the dystopian world of 2045 (the IOI indentured servitude prison was maybe the most insight into the real world Wade was trying to escape). Overall, though, I found this to be pretty meh.

[Black Knight]

I read the book when it first came out and loved it, and I just re-read it a few days ago on account of the upcoming movie. I've always liked playing video games, and I agree that makes a difference. But I was also fascinated by some of the futuristic concepts; for instance, the way the schools in the Oasis are able to be safe spaces for students.